Syria ceasefire ‘void’ if regime violations persist

Syrian people take part in a demonstration demanding opposition groups to come together in same roof Aleppo, Syria on December 30, 2016 [Anadolu]]

Syrian opposition groups said today they would consider a ceasefire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey “null and void” if the Damascus regime’s forces and their allies continued to violate it.

Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, has urged the United Nations to give its blessing to the fragile ceasefire, the third truce this year seeking to end nearly six years of war in Syria.

Clashes and airstrikes have persisted in some areas since the ceasefire began at “zero hour” yesterday, though the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said today that the truce was still largely holding.

“Continued violations by the regime and bombardment and attempts to attack areas under the control of the revolutionary factions will make the agreement null and void,” a statement signed by a number of armed factions said.

It said government forces and their allies had been trying to press advances, particularly in the strategic area of Wadi Barada northwest of Damascus that is the main water lifeline to the capital.

Russia and Turkey, which backs the armed opposition to the Assad regime, brokered the ceasefire agreement in the hope of preparing the way for peace talks in Kazakhstan in the new year.

In their statement, the opposition said it appeared that they and the regime had signed two different versions of the ceasefire deal, one of which was missing “a number of key and essential points that are non-negotiable.”

Twitter accounts linked to the Free Syrian Army (FSA), an armed moderate group, showed what they claimed was a copy of the deal they received and said that the Russian version sent to the UN Security Council was different because it allowed for the regime to press on Idlib.

There has been confusion over which groups in the opposition are included in the ceasefire. Daesh, which has made enemies of all sides in the conflict, is not included.

The Syrian army said on Thursday the militant group formerly known as the Al-Nusra Front was not part of the truce. However, several opposition officials said the group, which has been renamed Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham (JFS), was also included in the ceasefire deal.

JFS later released a statement confirming that it had nothing to do with the ceasefire deal, and that it had not signed it.